Bring Me to Life
by Crystallyn
Summary: "No, I'm sorry. You seem to think you have a choice." * Confusion. Incomprehension. * "My asking was a mere formality. You have no choice; marry me or you lose your skin." * OneShot. Slash.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing but the idea and this manifestation.

**Warnings**: Angst. Fluff. Happy, sappy ending. A bit of Ginny bashing — sort of. The abuse of semi-colons and em dashes. Slash.

**A/N**: _PLEASE _read the **F.A.Q **(second chapter) before leaving any reviews; trust me, it will clear up any confusion.

…

"_I can't say no to you_

_crave my heart and its bleeding in your hand_

_I can't say no to you"_

…

"Will you marry me?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Will you marry me? Will you allow me to bear your children?"

"Ginny… did I give an indication that you were more than a sister to me? I'm sorry, but I can't see you as anything else. No. I'm, I'm afraid my answer will be no."

A laugh — crazed, hysterical, dark — left those lips; that sound should never have been made by her vocal chords — impossible.

"No, _I'm_ sorry. You seem to think you have a choice."

Confusion. Incomprehension.

"My asking was a mere formality. You have no choice; marry me or you lose your skin."

Dawning comprehension. Dawning horror.

"I, I have no idea what you mean? What skin?"

"Oh Harry. Sweet, sweet Harry. _My_ Harry. Don't try to deny it. With _this _you have no choice but to do what I say."

Horror. Denial. Apathy.

"Oh, don't look so sad," She cooed. "It's not all that bad. Many a man has wanted to bed me; you should feel lucky to have the right to touch this body!"

A shaky nod.

Sharp talons ripped into my chest, pulling, tugging, squeezing, yanking that vital organ from within me. All that is left is a gaping hole, bleeding sluggishly, sending intermittent sparks of pain racing through my veins.

"Come on, love. There's so much to be done! Family and friends to tell, a ring to pick, and a wedding to plan! Oh how grand it will be!"

…

"_Please, please forgive me,_

_But I won't be home again."_

…

_Child. My precious child. Why do you not come?_

Oh, how I want to. It kills me inside, to be torn from your side.

'Forgive me, Mother.'

To think, this sheet of glass prevents my touch; such a fragile object, yet effective prison bars they do make.

'Shed not another tear; I cannot be caged forever.'

…

"_You were never conceived in love"_

…

"James Sirius Potter. Lovely name, right love? … Harry?"

"Hm? Yes. Lovely." Her sorrowful eyes trained on my back.

I try to bring up hate for this spawn; he was not desired, he was unwanted. So where did this love come from? This unwarranted affection?

Anything resulting from _her_ should be loathed with every fiber of my being. The same disgust reserved for her should have been passed to the sprogs as well. So… why?

…

"_Where has my heart gone_

_Trapped in the eyes of a stranger"_

…

"Ginny? May I talk to you for a moment?" Though posed as a question, it was more a softly-delivered order — the speaker was Molly Weasley.

"Ginny, is something wrong with Harry?"

"No, what made you think that?"

"Ginny dear, he hasn't said a word all night, except to James. He's barely touched his plate. He looks thinner than from the last visit. He keeps staring off in the distance. Ginny! He hasn't acknowledged you at all!"

"Mother. Everything's alright. Every couple has a different way of expressing their love; Harry's is a bit… understated."

"If you say so." Unconvinced.

…

"_Broken,_

_Lifeless,_

_I give up,"_

…

"Ginny, why hasn't Harry applied for a Healer position as of yet?" Hermione. She was always too nosy.

"Why are you asking me? Go talk to Harry, it was his decision."

"When I asked, he said that you would be able to answer that."

"You know how Harry is; always keeping things to himself. I can only assume that he wanted to be closer to James, especially since I'm so far away during Quidditch season."

"If you say so." Unconvinced. Suspicious.

Why can't they leave us alone? Can't they see how happy we are? I've been dreaming of this since I was a little girl — who hasn't? Every girl wants to marry her Prince Charming, is it so wrong that I was able to do just that?

Maybe… maybe they know? Impossible! Harry was so good at keeping it a secret! But… I was able to find it… no… no… No!

…

"_Let me stay_

_Where the wind will whisper to me_

_Where the raindrops, as they're falling, tell a story"_

…

_My Child. My precious, dear child. Why do you weep so?_

'Mother. Your presence I can no longer sense. The warmth, the love, has fled. My heart, my soul, locked away for as long as _she_ has it.'

_Oh, melanin. Spare not another tear. Fate will not separate us for long. Have hope my little one. We shall be together yet."_

'Oh how I wish that I could feel the same certainty as you.'

Sliding down, Harry submerged himself beneath the bath water, indulging in his mothers faint caresses, soaking in his siblings gentle touches. For these moments, he felt not as hollow as before.

He had every intention of staying for as long as he could, but fate had other plans and he could do naught but follow them.

"Harry!" He was pulled from the bath in one hard tug. Collapsed on the bathroom tiles, he hacked and spluttered, expelling any lingering traces of water from his lungs.

When he had calmed, a large, soft towel was wrapped around his shivering frame and a pair of strong arms pulled him close to an overheated body.

The heat called to his frozen body; without a thought, he burrowed in closer to the body radiating this warmth.

For the first time in years, Harry felt alive and content.

…

"_Can you forget the world that you thought you knew_

_If you want me,_

_Come and find me _

_Nothing's stopping you so please release me"_

…

"Harry," that voice — smooth, deep, and husky — called to him, coaxing him gently from Morpheus' arms.

"Hn."

"Harry, you can't avoid talking about this forever."

"I do not know what you speak of, William." Harry, feeling playful, nuzzled the other's neck, nipping and suckling whenever the fancy struck.

"Harry." He smirked as Bill began struggling to contain the wolf. Arching up, he pressed his long, nude body against Bill's toned one, delighting in the trembles and growls.

Caressing his ear as he spoke, "Don't hold back."

Bill's control snapped.

…

"_Help you know I've got to tell someone_

_Tell them what I know you've done"_

…

"Fleur will not be pleased." Harry mumbled from his position, curled up against the red-head.

"Don't worry about it; She never is nowadays."

With a contented sigh, Bill returned to his newfound hobby — carding his fingers through Harry's hair and melting the younger into a veritable puddle of purring goo.

"Harry, will you tell me why you did it?" Harry sighed, before wrapping himself around the elder man.

"I missed them." Bill staved off any questions; he wanted Harry to say his piece. "She took them away from me. She pulled me away from them and locked me away. She ripped out my heart, my soul, my warmth. But," he let out a wistful sight, "but, beneath those waters — any water — I could feel them; I could hear them. For those moments I could _feel_; I was no longer alone, cut off from their presence. I was too caught up in their return to even notice that I was drowning." He looked up and caught blue eyes with hi s own ocean green.

"William, until you saved me, I had no idea that I almost died." Leaning up, he pecked the other man on the lips — the kiss chaste, but the emotions clear.

Bill strengthened his hold on the other, almost suffocating, but Harry didn't mind — he reveled in his newfound ability to _feel_ once more.

"Who?" There were so many answers to that question, but Harry knew which one Bill wanted.

"Ginny."

…

"_Catch me as I fall_

_Say you're here and it's all over now"_

…

No one moved as the sound echoed throughout the room.

Bill stood before Ginny, a picture of righteous anger — an avenging angel; Ginny sat before him, shocked, and holding a hand delicately over the quickly blossoming bruise on her cheek.

"How dare you." Those three words managed to convey every emotion that the eldest Weasley was feeling, but had trouble conveying into words. Those three words were all that were needed to tell the rest of the family that something was wrong.

Those three words told Ginny that she was found out.

"William?" A soft, drowsy voice called him from the staircase. Everyone turned to see Harry, half in Morpheus' embrace, clutching a sheet — Bill's sheet — around his naked, fragile body.

Bill quickly ran over and ushered the drowsy young man up the stairs and back to bed.

No one moved as Hermione put all the pieces together before rounding on Ginny in anger.

…

"_Meet me after dark again _

_And I'll hold you (hold you)_

_I want nothing more than to see you there (hold you)_

_And maybe tonight, we'll fly so far away_

_We'll be lost before the dawn"_

…

"Harry? Is this it?" Green eyes widened as they fell upon the silken shimmering cloth; trembling hands reached out tentatively, as if afraid that the material would be taken away.

Bill, taking pity on the poor man, wrapped the cloth around the other's shoulder. With curious eyes, he watched he cloth glow before fading away, presumably sinking into the other's skin.

The eldest Weasley was suitably surprised when Harry threw himself at him, body trembling with the force of his sobs. The continued mantra of "Thank you" brought tears to Bill's eyes as he wrapped Harry in his arms. .

"Dad?" A small voice called the duo from the doorway.

Harry motioned James closer, making the young boy run to the men's embrace.

"You won't leave us, will you? You love us, right?" Harry was too choked by tears to verbally respond, he merely shook his head, clutching his son to him and pressing kisses to his forehead.

Bill held both to him, the wolf within purring in agreement to his decision.

It took them a while, but they had finally found their family, their pack.

…

"_I have dreamt of a place for you and I_

_No one knows who we are there_

_All I want is to give my life only to you_

_I've dreamt so long I cannot dream anymore_

_Let's run away, I'll take you there"_

…

_My dear, lovely child._

'Mother, I am truly sorry.'

_No need for apologies, my melanin. We understand. _

He sighed as her presence wrapped around him, unrestrained. The comforting words of his siblings surrounding him and filling him with warmth.

_Enjoy your love, your freedom, your family. You have time before you need to join us._

'I love you.'

_We love you._

"We love you as well." Harry leant back into the comforting embrace of his husband, pressing a kiss to the others demanding lips.

"I love you the most, William."

"What about me?" James cried, indignantly from Bill's side.

"We both love you, James. You're our little baby."

"'m not a baby."

Harry smiled in contentment as he watched his husband tease his pouting son.

_Enjoy this, my childe._

…

**F.I.N**

…

"**I can't say no to you/crave my heart and its bleeding in your hand/I can't say no to you"**

- "Good Enough" © Evanescence

"**Please, please forgive me,/But I won't be home again."**

- "Missing" © Evanescence

"**You were never conceived in love"**

- "Lies" © Evanescence

"**Where has my heart gone/Trapped in the eyes of a stranger"**

- "Fields of Innocence" © Evanescence

"**Broken,/Lifeless,/I give up,"**

- "October" © Evanescence

"**Let me stay/Where the wind will whisper to me/Where the raindrops, as they're falling, tell a story"**

- "Imaginary" © Evanescence

"**Can you forget the world that you thought you knew/If you want me,/Come and find me/Nothing's stopping you so please release me"**

- "Anything For You" © Evanescence

"**Help you know I've got to tell someone/Tell them what I know you've done"**

- "Bleed" © Evanescence

"**Catch me as I fall/Say you're here and it's all over now"**

**- **"Whisper" © Evanescence

"**Meet me after dark again/And I'll hold you (hold you)/I want nothing more than to see you there (hold you)/And maybe tonight, we'll fly so far away/We'll be lost before the dawn"**

- "Before the Dawn" © Evanescence

"**I have dreamt of a place for you and I/No one knows who we are there/All I want is to give my life only to you/I've dreamt so long I cannot dream anymore/Let's run away, I'll take you there"**

- "Anywhere" © Evanescence


	2. FAQ

**F****.A.****Q**

**1. What exactly did Ginny blackmail Harry with?**

_This is the most common question I am asked and therefore it shall be answered first. Ginny took Harry's "skin". No, not his actual skin. _

_**You: **__"What?" _

_**Me: **__"Yeah."_

_**You: **__ "But you just said she took his skin, and I'm pretty sure that we only have one skin, so if it's not actually his skin, then what is it?"_

_**Me:**_ _Good question. _

_It is at this point where I realize that not everyone is either an avid manga reader like I am, or the type of person that enjoys reading mythology for fun because the teen and young adult books have let her down one too many times. _

_First of all, when I wrote this, I wasn't thinking of anything in particular. It wasn't like I had sat down one night (12:59 am) and thought, "Now, how can I show off my worldly knowledge while confusing the hell out of the common person who may stumble upon this?" I assure you, it did not go like that. It went more like, "Teehee. I can't sleep. It's like, almost tomorrow morning, and my eyes are going kind of blurry, but it's really hot. Maybe I should write something!" Then I entered my "stream of consciousness mode" and wrote until I feel asleep, with my pen stabbing me in my back and the spine of my binder scratching my arm. It was fun. And now you know why it's in first person. _

_Moving on… since I was too tired to do research, and I was doing the s.o.c thing, I kind of blurred two mythologies together: Selkie and Tenshi._

_In both, some fisherman comes across a beautiful women, bathing in some lake, and decides "SHE WILL HAVE MY CHILDREN!" For selkies, the fisherman sees a seal skin (that she sheds to assume her human form), and for the Tenshi, they see some sort of robe/cloth/thing. In both, when the fisherman takes these items, the selkie/tenshi cannot go home (ocean/sea/heaven). With the skin in their hands, these beings fall in love with the (probably not so hot) fisherman and marries them and gives them children. Well these children (being the nosy pain in the asses that they are) find the skins and pester their mother about them. With the Tenshi one, she grabs the robe/cloth/thing and ditches the family to go back to heaven (she never fell in love with the fisherman, but was held captive). With the selkie, they feel an overwhelming feeling that tells them to put on the skin and then they are stuck with the seal skin on for the next seven years or so, and since they did fall in love with the (icky) fisherman, they follow the guy around when he goes fishing. _

**2. Who were the voices? Who's this mother?**

_And this is where my bleary eyed, sleep deprivation comes in. _

_Mother is mother nature, or in this instance specifically, the oceans/seas/water. _

_The other voices are water nymphs, his "siblings". _

_Yeah, I didn't really think this through too much, but somehow, while in the water, they join a collective conscious and therefore can communicate with each other. Kind of like how the La Push shape-shifters join their minds when in wolf form. _

**3. Was it supposed to be similar to the manga Ceres: Celestial Legend?**

_I will admit that I completely forgot about that manga until you brought it up. But now that I think about it, kind of, yeah. This story and that manga are both based off the same mythology. _

**4. Why wouldn't Harry tell the rest of the family?**

_The fact that Harry is a selkie is a secret; he didn't want anyone to know because he didn't want what happened with Ginny to occur (and everyone saw how that failed). Anyway, being a selkie registers you as a magical __**creature**__ — you're not considered human anymore, since the original form is that of a seal who can choose to take human form. Besides that, Harry hates being different, and since everyone was happy that he had married Ginny (like they had all expected), he didn't think that they would really care how the union came about. It all comes back to that "I got into this mess, I'll get out of it."/"It's my problem" mentality that Harry had going in canon. _

I hope this clears up any confusion that may arise from reading this one-shot.


End file.
